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Buying or selling a property: who’s involved

It's time to get acquainted

Loosen up your purse strings! Unless you’ve been living under a rock (which we highly doubt as you’re here on our site) you have probably been told by now that buying and selling your home is an expensive pursuit, and one that should be handled with care and attention. If you’re a person who is particularly price conscious, it’s important to remember that cheap doesn’t always mean best, and if due diligence isn’t done right, it can cost you even more money in the long-run.

Homebuying secrets: How to get ahead

Insider tips from an estate agent

You've got the deposit, the right people behind you, and you're feeling ready enough to take the plunge and snap up your ideal home. In a highly competitive property market, we wish that buying a house was that easy, but it's not. Whether you're stuck in a chain or buying for the first time, we asked Daniel Bourne, Senior Branch Manager at Douglas Allen, Barkingside, to share his secrets on how to give yourself the edge over other buyers.

Japanese knotweed: spot it, catch it, kill it

It's got a seriously bad rep

Cue the relentless Japanese knotweed or fallopia japonica – the bane of homeowners, property developers and governments alike. So evasive and threatening to our eco-system, if you’re caught planting or growing it in the wild (why would anyone want to?) it’s considered to be a serious wildlife offence. It’s also a pain to get rid of and infests pretty much anything within its wake – including the rock hardest of structures. Even a herbicide solution, considered to be a cost-effective and sustainable removal method, means it can take 1 to 3 years to get to work effectively. No wonder the JK has a bad rep!